More than two decades since a battery of players went toe-to-toe against the NFL in a series of antitrust cases that ultimately led to liberalized free agency, Freeman McNeil is utterly stunned that it has come to this. Players have sued the NFL again on antitrust grounds, amid a nasty labor dispute that has resulted in a lockout that threatens the 2011 season.

When six players are inducted next summer into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, highlights of their deeds will be delivered with dramatic Hollywood flair by NFL Films. Ed Sabol, 94-year-old founder of the film enterprise that changed the way people looked at the NFL, will be inducted, too.